


King Papyrus One-Shot

by Reading_at_Dawn



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Light Angst, Minor Character Death, Papyrus Needs A Hug, Post-Undertale Neutral Route - King Papyrus Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 01:11:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14249838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reading_at_Dawn/pseuds/Reading_at_Dawn
Summary: A short one-shot that takes place after the King Papyrus Ending.





	King Papyrus One-Shot

**_*(Ring, ring...)_ **

**_"heya. is anyone there...? well, i'll just leave a message..."_ **

**_"so.. it's been a while since you left. things have gotten really strange. overnight, a bunch of people mysteriously disappeared. as well as the human souls."_ **

The Underground was surprisingly busy, Monsters bustling from here to there in the different areas of the Underground. It was three weeks after the human in the pink and blue shirt had come through and left, some Monsters disappearing in their wake. The kingdom was beginning to finally come back to a semblance of normalcy. In the city of New Home, the recently-elected ruler of the kingdom of Monsters was on his throne, shuffling through inportant papers on his lap.

_**"** **people were heartbroken. everyone they looked up to... everything they were relying on, in one night, disappeared. everyone clamored to elect a new leader as soon as possible. so, uh... by process of elimination... papyrus became the ruler?"** _

The sudden appointment of him being ruler had stunned Papyrus, the skeleton swearing to do anything he could to help run the new kingdom. He even appointed Sans as the new Royal Scientist, and part time advisor to the king. Their house in Snowdin was now empty, the brothers having to spend most of their time in the Capitol.

_**"... FOR OUR HUMAN POLICY, WE'VE DECIDED, UM. SANS, WHAT WAS IT?"** _

_**"we can't judge humans to be all good or all bad."** _

_**"RIGHT! SO IT'S CASE-BY-CASE! IF THEY'RE EVIL... WE GIVE THEM PUZZLES! IF THEY'RE GOOD... WE ALSO GIVE THEM PUZZLES! THAT SEEMS TO BE THE BEST WAY!"** _

Papyrus finished signing the last paper in his lap, an order for more puzzles throughout Waterfall. Sans had helped Papyrus with the decree that any human that falls will be bombarded with puzzles to allow the Monsters time to get to safety until they could judge whether said human was good or bad. If they were good, the human would be welcomed with open arms. If the human wasn't... Papyrus didn't really like to think about that part.

He'd helped reform the Royal Guard, making a young but promising recruit named Doge the new Head Guard... In place of Undyne.

**_"HELLO, HUMAN! IT'S STRANGE... ASGORE, ALPHYS, METTATON, AND UNDYNE ALL WENT AWAY. SANS SAYS THAT THEY ALL WENT ON VACATION. I HOPE THEY'RE HAVING FUN!"_ **

**_*Ring, ring...*_**  Papyrus dialed the familiar number into his cell phone, listening to the ringing as it worked to connect to the other line. The voicemail picked up, same as it always did. But the message box was full. Papyrus hung up, dropping the phone into his lap.

_Vacation..._

The lie he told himself every single day. He and Sans never talked about the disappearence of everyone. Where they went, what happened... Though they both knew the human killed them. They danced around the subject, refusing to either mention it or would refer to it as the lies they both told themselves.

And some small, tiny part of him held hope that if he continued to refer to their disappearences as a vacation...

Maybe one day Undyne will answer his call or give him a call back, proving his lie to be true.

_**"EVERYTHING IS IMPROVING A LOT HERE. PRODUCTIVITY IS UP! BECAUSE I TELL EVERYONE TO KEEP WORKING. AND, NO ONE GOES HUNGRY! BECAUSE I COOK EVERYONE SPAGHETTI."** _

Papyrus would always find himself in the kitchen when he started getting overwhelmed with work, as surprising as it was. The castle kitchen was a much larger than the one in their old house, even being bigger than King Asgore's old one in New Home! His cooking has even improved since he became ruler of the Underground. He would put multiple pots of water on the stove to cook as much as he could at one time, focusing his attention on what he was making.

Papyrus decided to try making lasagna again, his first time making the dish in a long time. He went through the process of making it, remembering how much fun he had doing so. He drew the lasagna out of the oven, carefully placing the pan onto the counter. He closed the oven door, tugging off the oven mitts as he turned around, spotting a white flash streak through the door. A dog jumped up onto the counter, snatching the edge of the lasagna pan in his teeth as he darted back to the door with it.

 _"YOU MEDDLING CANINE!"_  Papyrus snapped, feeling anything but annoyed as he followed the dog toward the door. He stepped out into the hallway, but the dog was already gone. A small smile split his face as he turned back toward the kitchen. It was refreshing to see that some things never change.

_**"... IS SANS GONE? YOU KNOW... DON'T TELL MY BROTHER, BUT... DESPITE THE IMRPOVEMENTS WE'VE MADE... SOMETIMES THIS JOB IS KIND OF HARD. SINCE THE KING WENT AWAY... LOT'S OF PEOPLE WANT TO GIVE UP. SOMETIMES EVEN MY BEST ENCOURAGEMENT... DOESN'T WORK. AND, AND, I MISS UNDYNE TOO."** _

Papyrus was in the castle cooking when Doge ran into the room, her tail and ears up in alarm.

"Your highness, your highness! There's a human!"

Papyrus dropped his pot, the thankfully empty cookware falling to the ground at his feet in shock with a loud clang. _"A HUMAN?"_  He was somewhat relieved that Sans was deep in the lab, buried with paperwork. _"WHERE?"_

Doge lept back at the sound before she nodded, shifting her feet in a still pace as she put her hands together. "We spotted them at the first couple of puzzles in the Snowdin area. What should we do, your highness?"

Papyrus went silent, panicking slightly as he worked to come up with an idea. Taking a 'breath' to settle himself, he straightened his spine.  _"MAKE SURE THE MONSTERS IN SNOWDIN ARE SAFELY TUCKED INTO THEIR HOMES! I WILL GO MEET THIS HUMAN."_

"Your highness-!" Doge started as Payrus headed toward the door.

 _"I WILL BE FINE DOGE. JUST MAKE SURE EVERYONE STAYS SAFE!"_  Papyrus cut her off, leaving the room before she did protest anymore.

He ran to Snowdin, leaving the riverboat for Doge to take. He slowed when he finally arrived, cape settling on his back and fixing his crown as he walked through the empty town. Everyone was locked safely in their homes with the lights off, giving the town a creepy, ghost town feeling. Burying the unsettling feeling that worked its way into his Soul, he continued on his way into the forest.

Footsteps could be heard as he came to the edge of the forest, the King pausing when he heard them. It didn't take long for the human to come into sight, carrying a trowel. They froze upon seeing the Monster waiting for them, eyes widening.

Papyrus gave then a faint smile, holding his hands out to try and reassure the human.  _"HELLO, HUMAN! I AM PAPYRUS, KING OF THE UNDERGROUND."_

"You... You're a skeleton!" The human said, their gloved hand tightening around their trowel. "A... A monster!"

Papyrus gave a nod.  _"YES, I AM. THIS IS THE KINGDOM OF-"_  He broke off as the human lunged at him, brandishing their trowel.

"Every other monster I've met tried to kill me! I won't let you hurt me either!" The human snapped.

 _"I WON'T-!"_  Papyrus formed a bone in front of him, the trowel slicing through it and scattering the bone to dust. He stepped backward as the world around them faded to black and white. And the battle began.

_**"BUT HEY! I WON'T GIVE UP! I CAN'T GIVE UP!"** _

Papyrus kept his ATK as low as he could, trying his hardest to avoid hurting the human... But the human wouldn't give up, refusing to listen to him. They kept attacking.

Papyrus loved to fight. The adrenaline it gave him was the best feeling he ever got, and he had fun whenever he fought Undyne. He enjoyed a fair battle... But he never enjoyed fighting to hurt. To maim.

_To kill._

The human managed a lucky strike, the trowel striking his arm when the King failed to take a step back in time.

 ***-150 HP! HP 530/680**.

 _"NYEH!"_  Papyrus formed a blue bone, striking the human in their chest. Their Soul turned dark blue, making them drop to their knees.

***-3 HP! HP 12/20**

The human winced, glancing down at their Soul.

_"I WON'T HURT YOU, HUMAN! I CAN ASSURE YOU-!"_

"I don't trust you!" The human responded, forcing themself to their feet. They raised their trowel, striking toward Papyrus again.

In two more turns... It was over.

Papyrus closed his eyesockets as he threw one last bone at the human, striking them in the chest. The human let out a strangled gasp, followed by a light crunch as the trowel landed in the snow. Papyrus opened his eyesockets, his arm shaking as his gaze locked with the human. It was a minute before the human collapsed, their Soul returning to its original light blue color as it drifted up, away from the body.

Papyrus stepped forward, curling his hands shakily around the Soul and activating his magic. _"I'M SORRY... I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY... I'M SO SORRY..."_

He returned to the castle with the Soul, placing it in a SCU and hiding it away before he sent Doge to retrieve the human's body. He was grateful that there was enough leftovers for dinner that night. The King barricaded himself in his room for the rest of the night, face buried in his hands as he sobbed.

_**"I HAVE TO MAKE EVERYONE GIVE UP GIVING UP! WE'LL GET OUT OF HERE, SLOWLY! THEN WE CAN ALL HANG OUT AGAIN! NYEH HEH HEH!"** _

_***(Click...)** _


End file.
